Captain Durant's Countess by Maggie Robinson

From the back cover:
Maris has always been grateful that her marriage to the aging Earl of Kelby saved her from spinsterhood. Though their union has been more peaceful than passionate, she and the earl have spent ten happy years together. But his health is quickly failing, and unless Maris produces an heir, Kelby’s conniving nephew will inherit his estate. And if the earl can’t get the job done himself, he’ll find another man who can…

Captain Reynold Durant is known for both his loyalty to the Crown and an infamous record of ribaldry. Yet despite a financial worry of his own, even he is reluctant to accept Kelby’s lascivious assignment—until he meets the beautiful, beguiling Maris. Incited by duty and desire, the captain may be just the man they are looking for. But while he skillfully takes Maris to the heights of ecstasy she has longed for, she teaches him something even more valuable and unexpected…

I ended up really enjoying this romance even though I am not terribly fond of this particular plotline.  The situation always gets tricky when someone has to hire a man to get a woman pregnant but in the end, it worked very well for Maris and Reyn.  One thing that really did not sit well with me though was Maris's marriage.  She married a man who treated her like a daughter while she was growing up with his daughter...so that was just a bit off for me but I did see the deep caring and compassion she had for him.  I also was not sure how Reyn could turn himself around because when we first meet him, Maris finds him in a most wickedly comprising position but turn around he did.  I really fell for the dashing, confident, wickedly charming captain.  He dealt with the awkwardness during their times together in a good way and with that, opened his heart to Maris.  Maris was also a bit hard to warm up too but I really took to her in the second half of the book when she is finally free to just be herself.

So while the first half of the book was a bit slow and awkward, the second half let Maris and Reyn really discover the true force of their feelings and was very delightful.  There was a nice little twist at the end that seemed to end the whole odd situation in a very positive manner and I also loved the three little epilogues   They just brought a nice smile to my face to see this couple a few years in the future each time.  Plenty of steam and some wonderful secondary characters in the form of Reyn's sister and her beau add to this romance.  Recommended for fans of love growing out of unusual circumstances with heat, fun and no major drama.  4 stars

Review copy provided by eKensington via netgalley

The London List series
This could be read as a stand alone

                                     July 30th

New Covers

Quite a few really lovely covers found out and about this past week. It's long! :)

I am so excited that Maggie Robinson's new series is going to be a mass market paperback release (her previous books are all trade which equals higher prices).  I have really enjoyed her work so I am looking forward to the start of the Ladies Unlaced, In the Arms of the Heiress out July 2nd.  The house in the background reminds me a bit of Downton Abbey :)

Oh, pretty!  The Secret Life of Lady Julia will be out May 28th.  Love the blue and the flower and the little attention to detail on her dress.  I will definitely be reading this one.

I really like gold on the cover and with the addition of the purple sky in the background..lovely.  Love and Other Scandals is the start of a new series or a stand alone, not sure yet.  Look for it July 30th.

And now for a stretch of really lovely green covers!  I have yet to read anything by Adrienne Basso so maybe I will change that with How to Be a Scottish Mistress, which is set for release July 2nd.

Nicola Cornick is also an author I have been meaning to read and collecting all her books.  The Lady and the Laird is the start to her new Scottish Brides series so hopefully I get a chance to read it.  Look for it July 30th.

Yay!!  A new Julie Anne Long!  And the cover!  Love.  I love that she is looking right at you and her dress is gorgeous.  It Happened One Midnight is book eight in her Pennroyal Green series and one I can't wait for its  June 25th release!

Juliana Gray was added to my auto buy list this past year and How to Tame Your Duke is the start of a new series, set for release June 4th.  Added to my list to buy!

How to Lose a Bride in One Night (what a fun title!) is book three in the Forgotten Princesses series by Sophie Jordan.  This cover reminds me a bit of Cinderella fleeing the ball so it will be interesting to see if something like that happens in the book which will be out July 30th.

This is such a fun and flirty cover for the newest Cynster novel by Stephanie Laurens.  I also love the attention to the background detail.  The Taming of Ryder Cavanaugh reaches shelves June 25th.

Isn't this an eye-catching cover?  The lighter colors really work well together.  My Notorious Gentleman is book six in the Inferno Club series and should arrive July 30th.

And finally here is the lush cover for the newest from Karen Ranney, The Devil of Clan Sinclair.  I love when they include stepbacks and the gold is very striking.  Look for this title July 30th.

 Whew!  What a great batch of covers!  Which titles are you most looking forward too?

New Covers

Some new covers shared recently. . .

I love Lila DiPasqua's super steamy fairy tale retellings so I am very excited she has a novella hopefully out this month!  She shared the cover for The Duke's Match Girl on her website and I can't wait to read it!

What a perfectly festive cover for a holiday novella!  Deck the Halls with Love is part of Lorraine Heath's current series, Lost Lords of Pembrook and will be out Dec 18th.

Well, this cover is certainly different from Christina Brooke's previous covers (which I loved)!  I'm a bit on the fence about it...I like the pretty dresses better I guess but since these upcoming books focus on the men I guess it makes sense.  Oh well I have London's Last True Scoundrel preordered for its June 25th release as I loved the previous books!

For all you Stephanie Laurens fans she shared her newest cover in her newsletter this week.  I have not read a lot of her writing but what I have, I have enjoyed.  Look for And Then She Fell March 26th.

Maggie Robinson also shared her newest cover via her newsletter this past week and its another good one!  I enjoyed the previous book in this series so I look forward to Captain Durant's Countess and will pick it up on its Feb 21st release.  Bonus the ebook is only $5.94 instead of tenish for a trade paperback!  This makes me really happy and I hope to see it happening more in the future!

And lastly Delilah Marvelle is continuing her School of Gallantry series with three new books she will be self publishing!  The first is Lady of Pleasure which she shared this week.  I have not yet read the previous two books in this series but they are on top of my list for the new year as I have come to really enjoy her wicked sensual unique stories!  Look for this around March.

Well, thats all for now!  Which of these covers caught your eye?

Lord Gray's List by Maggie Robinson

Lord Benton Gray has had it with the weekly gossip rag, The London List.  He is always the front page fodder and everyone, including his own mother, eagerly awaits each new issue.  Deciding to end this once and for all, he goes and confronts the owner, a Mr. Ramsey.  But who should this Mr. Ramsey turn out to be but the one woman he proposed to years ago...Evangeline Ramsey.  Evie is running the paper to help pay her ailing fathers medical bills and dressing as a man has proved to be most advantageous as people are more willing to speak to a man over a woman and take her seriously.  Seeing the man she made a foolish mistake with and ruined her future as a result stems her anger and frustration but the final straw is when Ben goes behind her back and buys the paper from her father!  Sparks reignite, tempers flare and their past attraction still burns strong.  Together, Evie shows Ben the ropes of running a paper and the side that the public doesn't seem much, the caring and helping of all the desperate, poor people who need so much yet can not afford the rates to advertise.  Will Ben be able to truly turn over a new leaf and leave his rakish ways behind him and help Evie with all the issues with the paper and find what they thought they had lost all those years ago?

This book had everything I have come to expect from Maggie Robinson; heart, humor and heat.  The heat starts off rather quickly, with Evie and Ben already having a torrid affair in the past but then the sexual tension sets in and just keeps building.  The humor was just wonderful.  Our couple are constantly trying to prove who is the man and should wear the pants (literally)...Ben wants Evie to wear dresses and be a female and take care of her while Evie wants to continue doing her job and the pants suit her just fine.  Evie is a strong, bold, confident woman and does not need a man to take care of her!  (Even if he is devilishly handsome, wealthy and shows himself to have a very generous heart).  The heart comes from all the secondary characters that add a nice sense of completion to this story.  Evie knows what it is like to struggle and when Ben decides to shut down the paper, she shows him how many people depend on The London List to find jobs, homes, and helpers, that it is far more that a scandal sheet.  Yes, the situations that arose seemed to be settled fairly quickly and easily, but they were still pleasant to read.  I also really enjoyed seeing some of the day to day operations involved in running a newspaper!  Overall, a delightful, sensual romance that will surely please romance fans who enjoy a perfect blend of heart, wit, charm and heat.  4 stars

ARC provided by the author

The London List series
???  More titles to come!

It's Tuesday so it must be release day!

First up are two that were released this past Tuesday.  I've read the Kasey Michaels one and hope to read the one by Portia Da Costa.

And here are some of the wonderful books releasing today--

Yay!  Look at all of those books I think I need to buy, lol :)  I have only read four of them and if you have not read anything by Tessa Dare you must buy A Week to Be Wicked!  It is one of my favorite books of the year so far.  I am really looking forward to the Suzanne Enoch, Meredith Duran and Vicky Dreiling ones!  I know I will be buying them all.  Amanda Scott and Jenny Brown are on my list to read one of these days so thats where there new books will be shelved for me.  Also looking forward to the newest from Julia London but I have not read her previous newest release so I need to get caught up there.

So....which ones are you most looking forward too??  And if nothing has caught your eye there are a few more great releases on the 2nd from Jennifer Ashley, Tracy Anne Warren, Kate Noble and a debut from Tracy Devlyn.

Master of Sin by Maggie Robinson

Andrew Rossiter had a very unpleasant upbringing that has shaped him into the dark man he is today.  Raised by a man that sexually abused him from age seven forward, Andrew became a male prostitute and was more than willing to do anything with anyone, male or female...even offer himself as a stud if the price was right.  As he was able to deliver one son to an Italian couple, they have called upon his services again in hopes for another child.  But when a terrible tragedy occurs, Andrew is forced to become a father to the little boy who has no idea who truly is.  With the murderers sure to be on the hunt for Marco soon, Andrew quickly relocates out of London, anywhere where he is known for his devilish actions, and heads to a very remote area in Scotland, determined to put all of his past life behind him and begin anew with his young son.

Gemma Peartree has arrived at this remote island in hopes of escaping her own shameful past but is dismayed to find herself attracted to the blond angelface of Andrew.  As Andrew quickly develops some true affection, the first he has felt in years, for Gemma as well, he knows he must quickly ship her off the island.  But weather and Marcos deep affection for Gemma prevent this from happening as soon as he would like and before he knows it, he has spilled all of his shameful secrets in hopes of deterring this sprite-like beauty.  Gemma is much more responsive and open-minded though, as her own upbringing comes to light as well, and she finally persuades the suddenly morally uptight Andrew to indulge in a delicious affair.  Even as Andrew attempts to brush Gemma off again and again, together they slowly become true friends and beneath the friendship, a deep love grows.  However, it takes the past finally catching up to them for Andrew to finally realize the true depth of his feelings and hopefully it will not be too late to finally start anew as a happy couple.

I have read and enjoyed all the books in Maggie Robinson's Courtesan Court series and this book is a bit more darker and deep than the previous books.  I enjoyed how Andrew is not a titled gentleman trying to reform his rakish ways but rather a deeply scarred man that was abused during his childhood and built up such a wall around himself going into adulthood, he about misses the one thing that will finally give him some peace. The fact that the past was laid all out quickly was also a relief...there is no big misunderstanding and Gemma accepts Andrew for all his past misdeeds.   I also enjoyed how Marco was included in the story but the child never overshadowed the romance and felt real.  He naturally has a big distrust for Andrew and we get to slowly see father and son come together.  Truthfully, besides some crude language, I actually felt this book was a bit tamer than some of the previous books.  With Andrews fresh start, he also wanted to leave behind all sexual encounters and I was very pleased to see he did not drop that front quickly.  Gemma was a delightful heroine, small, bossy and knew how to get what she wanted when she wanted it.  She was the perfect balm to help Andrew accept himself and show that everyone deserves happiness, no matter how shaky or seedy the past may be.  Overall, a wonderfully satisfying, sensual romance.  4 stars

~Thanks to Kensington Publishing (Brava) for providing me with this ARC~

Courtesan Court Series
(Can be read as stand alones but I would recommend reading at least Mistress by Marriage as Andrew is in that book a bit and will give you some more insight into him)

New Covers

Just a few new covers this week. . .

Here is the cover for Stefanie Sloane's upcoming October 2012 release, The Scoundrel Takes a Bride.  I like it but it's not my favorite of hers...  This will be book five in her Regency Rogues series.

This is the start of a new series from Maggie Robinson and I expect it to be filled with steamy goodness!!  I really like this cover too...I enjoy covers that have a bit of landscape on them and we still get some eye candy :)  This one will be out in November 2012.

A lovely red cover from the delightful Delilah Marvelle.  Forever a Lady is book two of her Rumor series and is sure to be scandalous :)  Look for this one July 24th.

And one last eye-catching cover for your week from a favorite author of mine, Anna Campbell.  She just shared this one today and I am dying for the September 25th release date!!  So far away!  Currently Amazon only has the Kindle version listed but I am sure there will be a paperback as well.  I know I pre-ordered it already!  It sounds delicious! :)

Well, pretty quiet front on the covers this week but these are all books that I am anxious to read!  Did any of them catch your eye?

Upcoming August releases

Here are a few of the upcoming historical romance releases:

Arriving on August 2nd we have some very eagerly anticipated releases including The Many Sins of Lord Cameron (Berkley Sensation), A Midnight Dance, and It's Always Been You (which I mistakenly thought came out the end of July, sorry!).




Also coming out on August 2nd is a reprint of The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie (Berkley Sensation) which a much better cover this time around!  No missing hand in this one :)

New cover (love) vs old cover with missing hand, lol

And a few other historicals that sound good to me :)  A new one from Judith James on Aug 23, The King's Courtesan (Hqn).  On Aug 30 we see new releases from Maya Banks, In Bed with a Highlander, Sylvia Day, Seven Years To Sin and Maggie Robinson, Mistress by Marriage.  Also on Aug 30 comes the reprint of one of Lisa Kleypas original books from 1988, Love Come to Me.  Here is hoping they reissue more of her backlist so those $30+ prices for these oldies but goodies go away.  I just have a hard time plunking down that much cash for one book :/

And here are all of Avons August 30 releases.  I have already read Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue: A Cynster Novel (Cynster Bride) (really good!) and I have One Night in London: The Truth About the Duke and The Seduction of Scandal (Scandals and Seductions) ready to go from Netgalley and both sound good.  I still need to get caught up on Katherine Ashes trilogy but the short story (A Lady's Wish) I read by her was excellent and I am looking forward to the rest of her books.  I am really looking forward to Tessa Dares newest, A Night to Surrender (Spindle Cove) as it is the start of an interesting sounding trilogy!  Also releasing is a new one from Jenny Brown, Star Crossed Seduction (Lords of the Seventh House) and a reprint from Lynsay Sands, The Deed.






Also this month from Avon you will notice all the special K.I.S.S. and Teal stickers on these books.  They have partnered up to help promote Ovarian Cancer awareness and are donating 25 cents from the sale of each book pictured (ebook and paperbooks) purchased from 8/30 to 2/28/2012.  For more info see this site:            
http://www.avonromance.com/kissandteal/